Tuesday, December 4, 2012

The Black Box - Michael Connelly

Oh, Harry Bosch is back! I started Michael Connelly's latest book in the series (#18) - The Black Box - and I tried really, really hard to make it last.....but it was no use.....I finished it in a day. I literally couldn't put it down.

Harry is still with the Open-Unsolved Unit of the LAPD. It's the 20th anniversary of the L.A. riots and the Unit has been asked to try and clear some cases from that time period. Harry knows the case he wants to re examine. He worked the streets during that turmoil and was there when Anneke Jespersen's body was found in an alley. The murder of the young journalist was never solved.

"In the chaos of the moment, the mission was simple; preserve the evidence, document the scene as well and as fast as possible, and collect the dead. Get in and get out. And do it safely. The real investigation would come later. Maybe."

Well, that time is now. With today's capabilities in forensic science, Harry makes a discovery - bullets at the Jespersen scene match other crime scenes - committed after her murder. And Harry is on the trail. "Twenty years later, he got another shot at it. And it was a very long shot at that." What he also has is a new lieutenant - one determined to put Harry in his place.

This is Harry at his best, under the gun from superiors, eschewing the politicos, running solo, making connections others don't see and pursuing his cases full out. Justice for the victim is his focus. I have such a vivid mental image of Harry as I read - he is one of my favourite detectives.

As always, the plotting was intricate. I enjoyed solving the crime along with Harry as he pieced together his case from tenuous leads, intuition and dogged determination.

Connelly has given us the softer side of Harry in the last few books with the addition of his daughter Maddie. While I enjoy Harry having a personal life and storyline, I'm still on the fence about Maddie. But not about the new love interest Hannah - she's got to go. I'm curious as to whether a new female cop introduced in this book will return in future stories. Initially I thought she was just a supporting character, but played a bigger role than I imagined.

As always, another great read from Connelly. The downside - we'll have to wait another year for his next book - The Gods of Guilt. You can find Connelly on Facebook.

"The saying is that law enforcement work is ninety-nine per-cent boredom and one percent adrenaline - screaming high intensity moments of life -and- death consequence." The Black Box? One hundred percent recommended. Read an excerpt of The Black Box.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all of the books I review are either purchased by me or borrowed from the library. When a review copy has been received from an author, publisher or company, it is in exchange for a fair review and has no effect on my opinion of the book. There is no monetary compensation for reviews. All reviews are my own personal reaction to and opinion of the book.